"We had some initial talks, nothing more than that," Bellotti said, making clear he's interested in returning to coaching. "As this thing goes on, we'll see. That's the only way I can characterize it."

Colorado's position came open this week after Dan Hawkins, who was hired in 2006, was fired. He went 19-39 and lost his last 17 games outside of Colorado, never recording a winning season.

Bellotti was the Ducks head coach from 1995 through 2008, compiling a 116-55 record. He resigned after the 2008 season to become Oregon's athletic director and left that role after nine months to join ESPN.

Colorado joins the Pacific-12 Conference next season, with the Ducks set to visit Boulder on Oct. 22, 2011.